Devereux Announces Opening of Community-based Services in Newark, DE Friday, April 10, 2015
By: Devereux National

New office to focus on increasing need for community-based adult programming in the state

Villanova, PA – April 10, 2015 – Devereux, a leading national nonprofit
behavioral healthcare organization, today announced the official opening of its
new office in Newark, Delaware. Devereux’s Community Adult Autism Partnership
Program (CAAPP) and Community Supported Employment (CSE) Programs will provide day
habilitation, supported employment services, and behavioral consultative
services among other services to adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and
Intellectual Disabilities. Services will begin on June 1.

“We started
discussions about our services due to urging by parents who felt that there
were not enough options for community-based services in Delaware. After our discussions with the state
agencies, we were strongly encouraged to become providers under the DDDS waiver
and Vocational Rehabilitation services,” said Todd Harris, Ph.D., Director of
Autism Services at Devereux Pennsylvania. “As demand for CAAPP and CSE continues
to grow, the expansion into Delaware is an exciting opportunity to provide much
needed services to more adults locally.”

The need for
viable employment opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum is one
steadily gaining attention. The United Nations focused on the issue as the
theme of the recent World Autism Awareness Day and many states have adopted
“employment first” policies. These states, which include Delaware, aim to
create, enhance and support programs and initiatives that serve this
population. Delaware Governor Jack
Markell, who delivered the keynote address at the U.N. on Autism Awareness Day,
April 2nd, has made a priority of addressing employment disparity for
individuals with disabilities in his state, and has lead an effort to address
the issue at the national level.

“Our Mission and
Philosophy of Care directly align with the direction Delaware is moving in
terms of providing more community-based options for their adult participants,”
said Harris. “We hope to be a part of the state’s Pathway to Employment and
Early Start to Employment initiatives as time goes on.”

Devereux’s CAAPP
program currently serves more than 100 participants in Pennsylvania and has
begun accepting referrals in New Castle County, with the goal of expanding into
Sussex and Kent Counties in within the next two years.